Renfrewshire Lib Dems reveal 405 people stuck in local hospitals amid care crisis

Scottish Liberal Democrat candidate for Paisley and Renfrewshire North, Grant Toghill has called for a £500m rescue package for care to enable people to be released from hospital and relieve pressure on the NHS.

It comes as the party publishes new analysis showing that the average number of people stuck in hospital on delayed discharge at the monthly census point has increased by 87.5 since 2019 for the Greater Glasgow and Clyde health board, increasing from 216 to 405 per night in the first three months of 2024.

Liberal Democrat plans include:

• Introducing a higher Carer’s Minimum Wage, increasing the minimum wage for care workers by £2 an hour;
• Opposing the Scottish Government’s billion-pound ministerial takeover of social care that would strip away local powers, and advocate for it to spend this money on staff, frontline services and raising care standards for care users.
• Implementing a human rights-focused approach to social care with integrated local services and high national standards;
• Establishing clear career pathways and better representation for care workers, improving staff retention by valuing experienced staff and ensuring fair pay and working conditions.

Scottish Liberal Democrat candidate for Paisley and Renfrewshire North, Grant Toghill said:

"On the SNP’s watch, care services across Renfrewshire and the wider region are in crisis. They have broken their promise to eradicate delayed discharges.

"Every night there are now around 405 people stuck in hospital in Greater Glasgow and Clyde when they should be looked after at home or in a care home. It’s contributing to record-breaking waits in A&E and dangerous ambulance delays.

"The Liberal Democrats would create a new minimum wage for care workers, £2 higher than the national minimum wage, to tackle the chronic staff shortages in social care. We will make social care a profession of choice by investing in our care sector and giving care staff the pay and conditions they deserve.

"We will invest to save, recognising that providing care reduces demand on more expensive NHS services.

“The Liberal Democrats are leading the way in supporting our hardworking care workers in Renfrewshire. Every vote for us is a vote to fix social care to save our NHS.”